Staff Reporter.
Gauteng’s maternity wards were abuzz with the births several babies born on the first day of 2023.
MEC for Gauteng Health Department, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, paid a visit to Baragwanath hospital early this morning to congratulate the new mothers and celebrate the birth of the country’s New Year’s babies.
The MEC presented the mothers with gifts and encouraged them to register the babies at the Department of Home Affairs which was also based at the hospital, to get the babies their birth certificates.
She further encouraged them to take their little ones for immunisation against polio and measles at the local clinics and to breastfeed their new babies to ensure their steady development. “They need to follow up on their monthly appointments for this and must be disciplined about it. This is a problem we are currently facing, where some mothers miss their dates to get their child vaccinated,” she said.
We are expecting more babies being born at the facility later today. So we will have more New Year’s babies to celebrate.
“In a month, we see around 1450 to 1500 babies. I want to congratulate the doctors and nurses on the work they are doing. It is not an easy work [sic] to deliver a baby and to make sure those babies are healthy, as we can see,” the MEC told the media during an interview.
She stressed parents needed to vaccinate their little ones to protect them and their families from severe illness.